Arsenal seriously considered a deadline-day move for Real Sociedad midfielder and Barcelona target Martin Zubimendi after ending their pursuit of Brighton playmaker Moises Caicedo, according to reports. The Gunners were in the market for a new deep-lying midfielder following the recent injury suffered by Thomas Partey and ultimately ended up signing Jorginho from Chelsea on a permanent deal until the end of next season.
The Italian midfielder was signed for a transfer fee in the region of £12million including add-ons and will be expected to play an important role for Arsenal in the absence of Partey as they look to maintain their Premier League title charge between now and the end of the season. It could have all ended up so differently for the Gunners, though, if they had chosen to firm up their interest in Zubimendi instead of going for Jorginho.
Those in power at the Emirates Stadium gave plenty of thought to a move for Zubimendi, who is also said to be on Barcelona’s radar, but eventually opted against chasing his signature after learning that he was not keen on leaving Real Sociedad under any circumstances until at least the end of the campaign.
That’s according to Fabrizio Romano, who said in a video on his YouTube channel: “One of the players they [Arsenal] were considering was Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. A very good midfielder, already on the list of Barcelona.
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“He is a player that Barcelona are following. Arsenal were considering a move for Zubimendi, he has a release clause, but on the player’s side he was happy to stay at Sociedad until at least the end of the season, so Arsenal decided not even to proceed in talks with Sociedad because they knew the player wanted to complete the season in Spain.
“It was not rejecting Arsenal or any other club, he just wanted to stay at Sociedad, so we will see if Zubimendi is one of the names to keep an eye on in the summer.”
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It seems unlikely that Arsenal will decide to go in for Zubimendi when the bidding reopens in the summer, with the Gunners set to have bigger fish to fry in advance of next season. They are said to have identified Declan Rice as their top midfield target and will be expected to use their resources to tempt the England ace away from West Ham United, who have failed to tie him down to a new and improved contract over the last few months.
A move for Caicedo from Brighton could also be resurrected in the summer, at which point Brighton may be prepared to cash in on the 21-year-old given his desire to take on a new challenge in the not-too-distant future. The Seagulls were in no mood to entertain Arsenal’s advances in the final hours of the January window as a result of their desire to challenge for European qualification this season, although a move at the end of the campaign might be a strong possibility if Caicedo fails to change his mind on leaving the Amex Stadium.
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